Bin batching plant



Dec. 27, 1955 w. s. CRAWFORD ET AL 2,728,432

BIN BATCHING PLANT Original Filed April 11, 1949 l V/W/b'm 8. Crawfordflrf/zur 8. Graham INVENTORS Unite tates Patent BIN BATCl-IING WilliamS. Crawford, Dallas, and-Arthur- S. Graham; Carrolltnn, Texe Originalappiicntion April 1-1 1949; SerialNo; now Patent No; 2,591,785; Divided=and this appllcation December 8, 1951, Serial No'. 260 696 1 Claim. (Cl;193 -17) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in binbatching plants, and directedtmore particularly to a small binbatchingplantfor accuratelyweighing sand; gravel, crushed 'rock, orother aggregate, and thebatching mechanism for delivering the aggregateto the' mixershould be carefully co-ordinated with the mixer,v

not only'to insure uniformity'of products but also to minimize idle timefor the mixer between mixing cycles:

ltis; therefore; an impo'rtant'object of the invention to provideabin'batching plant wherein the bin is mounted on'the platformofplatforin scales, whereby the materials introducedinto the binmaybemeasuredby weight to assure correctly proportioned mixesthereof'before the materials are delivered from the bin to the mixer.

Another object" of the invention is to provideabin batching'plant whichis adapted for us'e'with an ordinary portable mixer having a skip intowhich the materials are discharged'from the bin for delivery into. themixer drum, and" wherein thebin batchingpla'ntis arranged to' positivelyassure delivery o'f rnaterialsfrom'the bin into the skipwithout spillingandfis also soa'rran'ged'that the plant does not interfere with movementof the skip to an elevated position for discharging'the'materials fromthe skip intothemixer drum;

A still further object of the invention is to provide, in a bin batchingplant of the character described; means for'moving the outlet extensionchute of the bin toward and from the skip of the mixer; whereby thematerials" may be delivered directly from the bin to the skip by gravityand the skip may be elevated Without interference by the plant.

Still another object of' the invention is to provide a bin batchingplant which may be mounted on a vehicle in: combination with a mixer,whereby both the plant and mixer are readily portable as a unit.

l't is a further object of the invention to provide, in a bin batchingplant of the character described, means independent of the bin andscales upon which the loading bucket of the material tiltably rested orbumped, whereby materials may be accuratelydelivered from the bucket ofsuch elevating machine into'the bin without affecting the measurement ofthe materials delivered into the'bin.

It is also an object of the invention'to provide'abin' batching plant inwhich the bin is mounted on the weigh ing platform of platform scalesandthe frame ofthe scales is. stationary and. wherein the binis-provided'with amextensible and retractable outlet chute fordelivering 11, 1-949, nowelevating machine may be" 2. materials to theskip: of amixer, said chute when retracted beingarranged to closethe-outlet-from the binand'to permitthe skip to be elevatedwithoutinter-ference by the chute.

Another object-of theinvention is to provide" abin batching plant of thecharacter described which is: sim= pie in structure and economicalto-manufacture.

Additional objects and advantages ofthe invention will readily. beapparent from the reading-,of the following. description of a deviceconstructedin accordance with the invention,.and reference totheaccompanying drawings 'thereofiiwhereiii:

Figure- 1" is a s i de elevation ofa-bin batchingplant,

Figure- 2fis a fragmentary; sideelevation of the outlet chute of theplant showing the chargingiposition, and

Figure" 3 is a fragmentary front elevation of the bin and chute.

chute in extended: dis- In' carrying. out the invention, a front'tractonloader:

(not shown)" scoops up sand'gtgraveh stone or: other aggregate frompiles o' f 'such material and elevates anddeposits such" materialin abin batching, plant 8 ll,.where the amouhtof material so depositediscarefully proportioned' byw'eigh't. are then delivered-from thebinbatchingplant'into the skip of a mixerfiibt shovvn) andaredischargedfrom the skipiirto therotating. drum of the mixerfor mixingwith water the'usual ma'nner, after which mixed concrete is'd chargedfror'r'i'themixer dium for use.

A bill" batching" plant weathered" in' accordance with' the invention isillustrated in Figures 1 through '3; wherein the platform scales and thebin are stationaryand the bin" is" provided with an extensible andretractable outlet chute for deliveringmaterials'from the bin to theskipof the mixer.

This bin batching plant includes a bin SlL'haVing. a substantially"rectangular open upper end and having its bottom 81 inclined downwardlyand" forwardly. The side Wall's'83"o'f-the bin are" substantiallytriangular in configuration and the lower" edges of such side wallsct'inver'ge toward theirlower end, as clearly shown in Figure"3zThe'frontwall 84of the binis' substantially vertical andhasan outletopening" provided in" its lbwer portioncommunicating'iwith a"rectangular outlet chute mouth 85; wneretiymaterial depdsite'd in thebin may discharge throu'g'tl said outlet mouth. The chute mouth isproviden -with a" bottom plate 86' fonni ng a continuatio'n ofthe'botto'rn'fof the' bin; and nasside' Walls 87' and a" top cover wall- 881Mounte'ct at the lower outer e'nclof the botto'ni plate 86' o'f the'o'utlet'n'i'oiithisan extension chute and clcis'uregate i 90whichisconnected with saidbottom" plate by a hinge: 91,. so than the"chute extension may be swung end of:-tlie outlet moiith 85 tdclose'thesame to prevent discharge of materials front the bin;

For moving the ext'ensioii chute and for holding it in its retracted andextendd pdsitions; crank arms are swingably moiitited at" each end ofa'n elongate shaft 96 which is rotatably mounted in bearing, supportmembers isff ositibn ed"adiacentittteupper endofthe outlet mouth.

Thecrank"arnfs' areprovidedat each side of the outlet mouth; and areconnected with the outer end of the ex- B'atented Dec.- 2'], 1955 Theweighed proportioned materialstension chute by means of connecting links99 which are each connected at one end by a pin 100 to the outer end ofone of the crank arms 95 and at their other end to the outer end of theextension chute 91 by a pin 101. The connecting links are bent at anangle between their ends, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, wherebywhen the crank arm and connecting links are in the retracted position,shown in Figure 1, the shaft 96 is positioned at a point, in the bend ofthe connecting links, past a line between the pins 100 and 101 at theends of the connecting links. Thus, any force applied against theextension chute by material in the outlet mouth 85 would tend to pullthe connecting link 99 outwardly, but since the line of pull against thepin 100 is below the center of the crank shaft 96, such outward forcetends to swing the crank arms 95 in a counter-clockwise direction andthus urges the con necting links 99 into tighter engagement with thecrank shaft. The extension chute is therefore locked in closed position.

When the hand wheel 98 is turned to swing the crank arms 95 outwardly tomove the extension chute to extended position, the rotative movement ofthe crank arms is limited by an elongate stop member 102 fixedly securedto the upper wall of the outlet mouth. The engagement of the crank armswith the stop member prevents further rotative movement of the crankarms and thus supports the extension chute in the extended position, asshown in Figure 2.

If desired, lengths of chain or flexible cable may be connected at oneend with the outer end of each side of the extension chute and at theirother end with the upper portion of the frame of the bin, whereby thechute is positively supported by the chains or cables when the chute isin extended position.

When the chute is retracted, as shown in Figure l, the skip 70 of themixer may be elevated past the chute without interference. However, whenthe chute is extended in the manner shown in Figure 2, the outer end ofthe chute is disposed above the open upper end of the skip and materialsmay flow from the bin into the skip.

The bin 80 is mounted on the upper end of a frame 109, which is carriedon the weighing platform of a platform scale 110. The scale frame 111 issecurely fixed on a base frame 112, which may be supported on the groundor on the frame of a wheeled vehicle carrying both the bin batchingplant and the mixer, to provide a compact portable combination unit orassembly. The weighing mechanism of the platform scale is conventionalin form and includes the usual upright having provided therein aplurality of scale beams, each of which is separately connectible withthe platform of the scales so as to be selectively operable separatelyor in conjunction with each other, so that the weights of diiferenttypes of material introduced into the bin may be determinedcumulatively. Thus, one beam may be placed in operative position bymoving a release lever 113 to connect the beam with the platform, sothat when the proper amount of material has been introduced into the binan indicator 116 atthe upper end of the scale riser will show that theweight of the material in the bin has reached the desired proper value.Then, a second release lever 114 may be turned to bring into action asecond scale beam, having a predetermined weight setting, to permit theintroduction of additional material into the bin in a predeterminedquantity by weight, the indicator 116 showing such quantity of materialhas been introduced. If desired, a third release lever 115 may then beturned to connect a third scale beam with the platform of the scale forindicating when an additional amount of another ingredient or materialintroduced into the bin has reached a desired value by weight.

The quantities of material introduced into the bin are weighedcumulatively; that is, the weight of the first introduced material isindicated by the first beam, and when the second beam is placed inoperative condition, the

weight of the second material introduced into the bin will be added tothe weight of the first material to cumulatively act upon the scalebeams to indicate when the proper weight of the second material has beendelivered into the bin. Obviously, the number of beams on the scale mayvary in accordance with the requirements of the user, and the number ofbeams actually placed in use may likewise be determined by the user.

A fixed roller supporting frame having risers 118 on each side of thebin is secured to the rear portion of the base frame 112 and carries atits upper end a roller bumper or rest bar 119 which is rotatably mountedon a shaft 120 secured to the upper end of the frame risers on each sideof the bin so as to be independent of and spaced above such bin. Thisrest or bumper roller is provided for the purpose of supporting thebucket or scoop of the front tractor loader (not shown), so that thescoop bucket may be tilted to unload or dump sand, gravel or otheraggregate into the bin in controlled quantities without applying theweight of the scoop to the bin. Thus, only the true weight of thematerials introduced into the bin are registered by the scale indicator.

When the desired proportions of sand, gravel, and other material havebeen dumped into the bin, the skip of the mixer is lowered intoreceiving position, and the hand wheel 98 is turned to swing the crankarms 95 so that the extension chute 90 is moved to the extended positionshown in Figure 2. This movement of the extension chute opens the lowerend of the outlet mouth from the bin and permits materials in the bin toflow through the mouth and along the chute into the skip of the mixer.

When the materials have been discharged from the biniuto the mixer skip,the hand wheel 98 is turned in the opposite direction to swing theextension chute to the retracted closed position shown in Figure l,whereupon the mixer skip may be raised past the bin batching plant todischarge the materials from the skip into 'the mixer drum. With theextension chute in the retracted position, the outlet mouth 85 from thebin is closed and the bin may be recharged with the desired proportionof material and the operation repeated.

As has already been pointed out, the base frame 112 of the bin batchingplant may be mounted on the frame (not shown) of a wheeled vehicle,together with the mixer, to provide a compact portable combination unit.The structure of the bin batching plant in such event would be modifiedonly by shortening the height of the frame 109 to position the outletmouth and extension chute of the bin closer to the skip of the mixer.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that a small bin batching plant hasbeen provided wherein the bin is mounted on the weighing platform of aplatform scale so that materials introduced into the bin may be measuredby weight to assure correctly proportioned mixes thereof before thematerials are delivered from the bin to the mixer. It will also be seenthat, in both forms of the invention, the proportioned materials aredelivered from the bin of the plant into the skip by gravity withoutspilling and without interfering with the operation of the mixer skip.

It will further be noted that a small portable bin batching plant hasbeen provided which may be constructed.

and operated as a unit separate from the mixer, or which may be mountedon a wheeled vehicle with the mixer to provide a compact portablecombination unit which is constantly in proper operating relationship.

It will further be seen that the bin batching plant is provided withmeans, independent of the bin and scale, upon which the loading bucketof the material elevating machine may be tiltably rested or bumped toassure delivery of materials from the elevating machine into the binwithout affecting the measurement of the materials dc livered into thebin.

Likewise, the unit is manifestly simple in structure and economical tomanufacture, and provides a plant for positively and accuratelyproportioning materials to be used in the manufacture of concrete whichis so simple in operation that an unskilled laborer may be used forproportioning the materials and delivering them in such correctproportions to the mixer.

Furthermore, it will readily be seen that the bin batching plant isoperable by a single laborer, thus producing the desired outlinedresults with a minimum of labor costs.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory only, andchanges in the details of the construction illustrated may be made bythose skilled in the art, within the scope of the appended claim,without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A bin batching plant including, a bin having an elongate inclined wallmember forming the rear and bottom wall of the bin and havingsubstantially triangular side walls joined at their lower edges to theinclined wall member and a front wall joining the side walls andterminating short of the bottom wall to provide an outlet opening acrossthe front of the bin coextensive with the bottom wall; an outlet chutemouth having a bottom forming an extension of said bottom wall, a topcover wall joined to the lower edge of said front wall, and a pair ofside walls extending from the side walls of said bin and connecting saidbottom and said cover wall; and a closure gate secured to said outletchute for pivotal movement about an axis at the lower outer end of thebottom wall of said outlet chute and having a bottom and a pair ofsides, said sides being disposed outwardly of said side walls of saidoutlet chute, said closure gate being movable to a lower open positionabove a mixer skip to form a chute when said skip is in lowered positionfor delivering material from the bin to the skip, and movable to anupper closed position wherein said bottom of the closure gate abuts theouter ends of the side and cover walls of the outlet chute and closessaid outlet chute, said closure gate when in the .latterp'osition beingclear of the arc of travel of the skip from lowered load ing position toelevated emptying position; and means for moving said closure gatebetween open and-closed position including, a rotatable shaft mounted onsaid bin and disposed behind and parallel to said axis about which theoutlet chute is pivoted, a pair of crank arms rigidly mounted on saidshaft, a pair of links, each of said links having one end pivotallyconnected to said closure gate and the other end pivotally connected toone of said crank arms, said links having opposite end portionsextending angularly from an intermediate point of each of said linkswhereby when said closure gate is in closed position the ends of saidlinks are disposed on one side of a diametrical line of said shaft andsaid intermediate points of said links are disposed on the opposite sideof said line so that any force exerted on said gate closure by materialin said bin tends to lock said closure gate in closed position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS432,952 McLean July 22, 1890 666,983 Spencer et al Jan. 29, 1901 718,742Umholtz Jan. 20, 1903 752,555 Holmes Feb. 16, 1904 792,735 Seaver June20, 1905 920,415 Bathrick May 4, 1909 1,585,062 White May 18, 19261,614,373 Lepley Jan. 11, 1927 1,688,600 Slifer Oct. 23, 1928 1,837,685Smith Dec. 22, 1931 1,871,559 Reed Aug. 16, 1932 2,109,534 Johnson Mar.1, 1938 2,135,440 Longnecker et al Nov. 1, 1938

